Preview | Limerick travel to Kilkenny in 2023 National Ladies Football League opener

Graham Shine named a 36-player panel for the upcoming season during the week with 11 clubs represented.

The Limerick Ladies Football team will kick off their 2023 campaign this Sunday as they take on Kilkenny in Dunmore in their League opener.

Throw in this weekend is 2pm with the game to be streamed live by the LGFA.

Limerick will be seeking to go one better than 2022 when they were beaten in the final by Offaly. That game ended a six-year wait for a final berth but Offaly were the better side on the day as they secured a 3-12 to 4-4 victory in the decider.

Graham Shine’s side are in Group B of the bottom division where they are paired with Kilkenny, Wicklow, Leitrim and Derry.

The top two teams in each of the Division 4 groups will progress to the semi-finals. The semi-final ties are scheduled for Sunday March 26. Carlow, London, Fermanagh and Antrim will battle it out for the top two spots in Group A.

Limerick will be on the road in three of their four games, with the clash against Leitrim to be their only one on home soil.

They will travel to Kilkenny to take on somewhat of an unknown entity with the Cats returning to the scene after a three-year lay-off. Disappointing results in the league and championship in 2019 saw them withdraw from both competitions.

That year, the then reigning All-Ireland junior champions Limerick were 7-20 to 1-3 winners over the Cats in Askeaton. Kilkenny only had 11 players that afternoon.

And Kilkenny manager John Gorey is under no illusion of the challenge on hand as he said,

‘No one is under the illusion that this is going to be easy. Rome wasn’t built in a day and this is only the start of the building blocks for Kilkenny’s adult squad.’

Limerick manager, Shine, who is in his second year as Bainisteoir, named a 36-player panel for the upcoming season during the week. He will be without some key players due to injuries and travel but has included a number of youthful players.

There are eight from Monagea who reached the Munster Intermediate Club Football final while Junior finalists Oola have six selected.

Overall, there are 11 clubs represented in the squad including Galtee Gaels’ Roisin Breedy who bagged a hat trick in their Junior final win.

Old Mill’s Roisin Ambrose will continue in her role as the sides captain it was announced on Thursday morning.

Last year, Limerick defeated London 2-9 to 0-9 in their opener before victories over Offaly and Carlow saw them into the semi-finals of the competition. There they avenged the semi-final defeats of 2019 and ’21 to secure their place in the final at the expense of Fermanagh.

But Offaly gained revenge in the rematch as Limerick’s stint in the bottom division continues for the sixth successive season with three semi-finals and one final loss in that time.

Limerick’s last League title came back in 2015 when they overcame Antrim 4-8 to 1-10 in the decider. However, relegation followed the following year.

Limerick face Kilkenny in Dunmore this Sunday January 22 in the first round of the Lidl National Ladies Football League Division 4 at 2pm.

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